The Way Back
by Aqua Blue
Summary: [COMPLETE] Tomoyo and Eriol broke up over an argument, but both still love each other. Now they meet again, but this time they're stuck in a "broken down" elevator together. How are Tomoyo and Eriol going to react now? R&R plz.


Summary: Tomoyo and Eriol broke up over an argument, but both still obviously miss each other. Now, after a month, they meet again, but this time, they're stuck in an elevator…. 

A/N: The fic that I promised *anonymous* (will u tell me your real name now?) after I finished the other story I was working on … I take way too long on these things, I have to learn to get my lazy fingers to start typing more. Well, I hope u guys enjoy this! =)

And one more thing, awhile back I saw all these fics with other couples stuck in elevators, but never E+T. (either that or I just missed it) anyway, since there wasn't any I saw, I decided to write one myself. If there was one that I didn't see, gomen nasai for using your idea too and taking away its originality, but I didn't intentionally copy it. 

Ok, one last thing, this style might be a wee bit different from my other fics, but I'm trying out something new. ^_^

Dedicated to: ~anonymous~, and everyone who reads this and my other fics. 

Setting: Sometime during high school, I guess…

Oh yeah, and Sonomi knows about Sakura and Syaoran's magical powers. 

~

Hiiragizawa Eriol dragged himself down a muddy sidewalk. He couldn't believe what passed a few minutes ago, the pretense of the unbelievable reality had yet to wear off... 

Daidouji Tomoyo, the heir of the Daidouji Toy Company, had just dumped him. That's right: 

Daidouji.

Tomoyo.

Just.

Dumped.

Hiiragizawa.

Eriol.

He didn't see it coming, and he didn't think he would ever accept it in a million years. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****

The Way Back 

Another one of my not-so-many E+T fan fictions.

Standard disclaimers plus I don't own either of the songs I used.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eriol was making his way down the street. He really should head for home, it would get dark very soon and the weather didn't seem to like him today. Either that or it loved him so much it was ready to cry for his broken heart. But home wasn't a place he could think, the King's Penguin Park [A/N: is that what its called? I'm not sure] was. So despite the heavy weather, Eriol made his way to the tranquil recreational area. 

Eriol looked up and something caught his eye. Afar, it looked like a pinkish-red spot in the middle of a vast sea of green. Near, a scene of a forgotten blanket with a pretty crimson heart and an 'I love you' in red letters embroidered over it. Just the perfect thing to remind him of what happened. 

Eriol reached the park's dusty benches and laid down. It was going to be a long and unbearable night. A lot of things were still fresh in his head for him to brood over. He might as well get comfortable. 

The girl who he is convinced is his soul mate accuses him of cheating on her. He knew that nothing would ever lead him to doing that, but she just wouldn't listen. So what was a sorcerer like him to do? The obvious answer was to try to get her back. But he thought a more intelligent move would be to give her some time to think over what she accused him of. 

He still couldn't understand how she could suspect him of cheating on her. _Him, _cheating on _her. _He would NEVER do that. Did Tomoyo think that his love for her was that weak? He was positive that they were meant to be, but look at where they were now. What if she had just stepped out of his life forever? He wouldn't be able to go on. He needed her. 

The thought brought him to examine the emotions he was feeling right now. He felt empty. All his hopes and plans for the future have died. A winter frost had come in spring and a frozen shroud was laid over his cheerfulness. His treasured wishes, not twelve hours ago vivid and blooming, now lay still and lifeless. Staring up at the patches of clouds, he felt a void in his heart where something warm and fuzzy used to reside, and there was a bitter taste like he just lost something cherished in his life. 

Here and there, Eriol could see the glimmering multitude of stars that managed to peek out between the clouds. They offered a soft yet triumphant glow to the night sky. From the magician's point of view, it looked like there were taunting him with their triumph and his loss. 

Dammit, why was everything reminding him of what he lost? He shouldn't allow himself to indulge in a state of resentment and sadness. He should think of a way to get Tomoyo back! 

He tried to think back to the time before the argument. Ahh, yes, the good times; when everything was well and they had gotten together after getting over their first unrequited love. Kaho. And for her, Sakura. When there was peace in the air, and he was filled with the sensation of being complete. Without Tomoyo, the very essence of living seemed to be stolen away from him…

__

A crash sounded in the Hiiragizawa manor. 

"Tomoyo!! Stop it! Calm down!" A male voice shouted over the pandemonium. 

"Calm down?? I can't calm down when you are cheating on me with another woman!" Tomoyo screamed, hysterical. 

"For the last time Tomoyo, I. Am. NOT. Cheating. On. You," Eriol looked straight into her eyes as he said this. She averted his gaze. 

"I've just been busy lately and coming home late. Stop accusing me of cheating!!"

Tomoyo didn't say anything, but she seemed to be weakening.

"Tomoyo," Eriol's eyes softened. He slowly took a step towards her. "Stop believing that I am cheating on you. I would never do that, I love you so much. Please…how can I show you, I'm not cheating on you!"

He finally got to Tomoyo, and he lightly reached out a hand to put around her. She didn't resist like she did the other time. Instead, her eyes were starting to water.

"What happened to us, Eriol? Everything was perfect, and then…" she trailed off. 

"Sshh, its okay. Hush now," Eriol said soothingly. "Everything's fine. There's nothing wrong," With both hands around her, he dipped his head to kiss her hair. 

She sighed into his chest. Her tense shoulders relaxed. She looked up at Eriol with glassy orbs. 

"I wish you were right, Eriol," She whispered. 

Before he could ask what that meant, she was already kissing him. Immediately, he responded. All of a sudden, he was engulfed in the familiar bittersweet anticipation. 

But what happened next was unusual; she pulled back. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't live like this…" she whispered almost inaudibly before grabbing her bag and coat and walking out the door. "I never want to see you again! Stay out of my life!" 

And she was gone.

So that was a goodbye kiss…

Some heavy clouds, swept from the sky by a rising wind, had moved to leave the moon bare. It now shone down on him almost tauntingly just like the stars had. 

Eriol got up from the bench. He had had enough of sky glazing. He would let his thoughts continually rove around elsewhere. 

The door to the Hiiragizawa manor opened and revealed Hiiragizawa Eriol himself. He was dripping wet from the April rain that had started, but made no effort to dry himself. It was a few hours after the park bench. Since then, he had been strolling the empty park lost in thought (and avoiding looking at the sky). 

The magician's guardians, Akizuki Nakuru and Spinel, aka Ruby Moon and Suppi, came into the hallway. (More like Suppi flew and Nakuru bounced) They stopped dead at the sight of their master. Out of nowhere, Nakuru conjured up a towel and proceeded to wipe Eriol dry as much as possible. 

"Eriol-sama, where did you go?" asked the feline while the other guardian was wiping away. "And where is mistress Tomoyo?"

"Nowhere," he answered in a monotonous voice. "Tomoyo's…not coming back…"

Eriol wasn't in the mood to explain what happened to his guardians yet, or ever. He attempted to go to his bedroom, in search of sleep and solitude. Nakuru suddenly stopped with the towel, and he took the opportunity to escape. On the way up the stairs, Eriol caught sight of himself in a mirror. His fascinated glance involuntarily explored the depth it revealed. The reflection was one of depression, and all looked colder and darker in that visionary hollow than in reality. Or maybe that was how he felt everything really was in the inside; everything seemed to have last its bright light a few hours ago. 

He flung and slammed the door, let down the curtains, and fell onto his bed. Maybe he could snatch a few hours of sleep tonight. But he just ended up where he was earlier; his mind resumed his interrupted chain of reflections. 

Midway through his thoughts, certain song lyrics floated into his head. They seemed to fit perfectly. 

__

It's all because of you

I'm feeling sad and blue

You went away

Now my life is just a rainy day

I love you so

How much you'll never know

You've gone away and left me lonely

Untouchable memories

Seem to be haunting me

Now the love so true 

That once turned all my gray skies blue

But you disappeared 

Now my eyes are filled with tears

You went away and left me here

Soaked with love all my thoughts of you

Now that you're gone I don't know what to do

If only you were here 

You'd wash away my tears 

And the sun would shine

Once again you'll be mine all mine 

But in reality

Your love I will never be 

Because you took your love away from me

He spent the rest of the night lost in thought till he was finally consumed with sleep.

__

A week later…

Tomoyo Daidouji woke up in bed feeling like she had just lived through the apocalypse. She was a mess; her eyes were puffy, cheeks felt hot, hair was everywhere. She raised her eyes in abstraction wondering what happened. Then she remembered and all of a sudden reality came crashing down on her again. After a week she still couldn't get used to the fact that she wasn't with Eriol anymore, both physically and figuratively. The worse part was that it was entirely her fault. 'Her fault' meaning she was insecure and ended up accusing Eriol of cheating, which led to the argument, which led to the breakup, which led to Tomoyo waking up every morning alone. Plus the nightmares, which always managed to turn her into a wreck. 

Every night since that day, she had been having nightmares. Then she would wake up, find that it was morning, and not remember a thing that went on in her head. All she knew was that Eriol would always appear in them. But the terrible feeling still remained with her when she awoke, and Eriol wouldn't be there to comfort her. Whatever Tomoyo tried, a nightmare never failed for seven successive nights to meet her the moment she entered the land of slumber. She felt so hopeless and tormented ever since the event which drove her from the house she found a paradise. 

Tomoyo could feel her eyes begin to act as dams again, but she couldn't possibly cry anymore after what she did the first night alone. Her tears practically watered the bed during those hours of darkness. Instead, Tomoyo sat up calmly began reflecting again. In the tranquility she imparted there was an alloy if inexpressible sadness. Things would never be the same again. The world was such a cold, dangerous and unmerciful place after she left Eriol a week ago. With him she left her sense of security behind too. 

The dreadfulness of guilt weighed heavily on her heart each day and drained away her happiness. It took away the motivation to wake up with the sun, but the nightmares kept her from sleeping in. Awake or asleep, she was relentlessly plagued. Tomoyo wished she could just erase that night from existence. 

Stirring from her deep thoughts, the Daidouji heiress lifted her eyes and cast her gaze over some objects on her desk across the room. All was covered in a week's quiet dust, but each told a story. They weren't placed in order, but Tomoyo could still remember when she had received each. The necklace was from Eriol on her birthday, and that beautiful glass rose last Christmas, and the list went on. She should clean them, they were still precious to her. 

She got up off the bed and went to pick one up. Before her slender digits could grasp one though, they withdrew with pain. Tomoyo felt so empty, she couldn't possibly touch anything that reminded her of Eriol. Once _again, _tears were threatening to fall. 

"Tomoyo, honey, are you up? Could you come down quickly, I need to speak with you." 

Her mother. 

Tomoyo sighed. It was inevitable anyway, she would have to talk about it sooner or later. She did her best to cover all the telltale signs on her face, and walked downstairs with as much composure as she could muster. 

__

2 weeks later…

Sakura Kinomoto surveyed her best friend with concern. Possessing powers, she could sense a big change in Tomoyo's aura, and a lot of pain. Two weeks since what happened [she knew about the Eriol-Tomoyo breakup, she's her best friend after all] and Tomoyo still didn't look any better than she had the first few days after the breakup. 

"Tomoyo-san, daijobu?" Sakura asked as Tomoyo was coming out of her house. They were going to the mall to spend some quality time together, though it would have been much more productive if Eriol went instead of Sakura. 

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan. You worry too much. Shall we go?" A cool composure and strained smile. 

"Hai," Sakura answered, somewhat hesitantly. She didn't want to push it. The last time she did, Tomoyo's face was etched with pain and she started crying again. She would have to talk to Syaoran and Sonomi. Tomoyo was obviously missing Eriol, although he denied missing her too. 

Something had to be done.

__

A month later…

A month from the day of the breakup has passed, and Sonomi Daidouji was worried about her daughter. Tomoyo hadn't been herself lately, and it was obvious why. Some days when Tomoyo would be completely quiet and meditative, but underneath the mask and cold eyes, Sonomi knew there was a storm raging and excruciating suffering. Other days Tomoyo would let everything out and just cry. Lately she was quiet composed, but she was operating on automatic. No passion or energy was present in anything she was doing, she just did it. 

Tomoyo was a mistress at the art of pulling masks, but Sonomi herself could do the same, and she knew what it was really like inside beneath the countless layers. Eriol Hiiragizawa must be a very special person to reach Tomoyo through all her veils of protection. 

Tomoyo, like she, was once afraid of her heart being broken. But in the world, several special people possess something that triggers an impulse in people like her to cast away their masks to see the world in another light. A happier one, full of happiness, laughter, love, loving and being loved in return. Of those people, Eriol Hiiragizawa was one of them.

And that was why she wasn't about to let him or Tomoyo give up on each other. Whatever it was that tore them apart (Tomoyo refused to tell her), she was going to make them forget. She was going to make them remember what had brought them together in the beginning, and she was going to make sure they stayed together. 

After having all those thoughts dancing around in her mind, Sonomi was ready to talk to Tomoyo. She could already taste success. 

That's it! Eriol was getting extremely frustrated with himself. He hadn't seen Tomoyo in a month and all he spent his time doing was pacing back and forth in speculation. He had cut off all communication with Tomoyo, but he couldn't bear it anymore. He had tried everything to stop thinking about her; playing his piano, tending to his garden, and even painting. He thought he could just take a seat by the window and color out any scene that happened momentarily to shape itself in his ever-shifting kaleidoscope of imagination, but only a picture of Tomoyo would fill his head. When he played he would think of times when they had done a duet. The craving to know what had happened to her followed him everywhere. 

After finding out that Tomoyo was at her mother's company from a housekeeper, Eriol settled on catching her there. And I'll go the back way so no one sees me, he added as an afterthought. 

That was a complete waste of time, Tomoyo thought as she was descending in an elevator. She had just been to visit her mother at her office and received another lecture from Sonomi about how she was worried about her lately, how she was acting apathetic nowadays, and the usual questions about Eriol. Really, she could handle her own life. Now Tomoyo was escaping from the back elevator in case her mother thought up of another subject to lecture her about. 

The elevator started to slow down again. Not many people know about the back elevator, Tomoyo mused, wonder who it is. Either way, it was a hindrance, she wanted to get down and out of there as fast as possible. Why can't things go my way for once, Tomoyo silently whined as she impatiently leaned against an elevator wall. 

Hurry up, hurry up, Eriol rushed as he pushed the elevator button repeatedly. He had to catch Tomoyo before she left. What he planned to say when he saw her he didn't figure out yet, but it would come to him…hopefully. 

The elevator light blinked and blinked again. Finally, it arrived. The doors slid open.

Eriol stopped in his tracks. There, standing a few feet away from him, was Daidouji Tomoyo. There, leaning against a elevator wall was the beautiful lady who he hadn't glimpsed for an unbearable 31 days. She wore a look of surprise and he could even make out pain underneath the indifference of her amethyst eyes. If she was at all happy to see him she cloaked it very well. 

His heart skipped at least five beats just at the sight of her. He had been aching to see her, but now that he did, he was slightly taken back. But there was no denying that after a month, she still looked as beautiful as he had left her, possibly even more pretty. But just looking at her right there, Eriol felt a pang of regret. She would always be in his mind looking every inch the goddess that she was, but somehow, it wasn't the same as actually seeing her in the flesh. His memory of her seemed to dim every time he looked away, or wasn't spending every minute of his life with her. Somehow, his mind couldn't substitute the beauty Tomoyo radiated each time he looked at her. Regret washed over him even more at the thought of how much he missed just not waking up to see her sleeping face every morning, he was derived of a great pleasure, and he had forgotten how much it meant to him. 

With her dark waterfall of tresses cascading down her back, radiant eyes, blush of pink on her cheeks, perfect figure, undying grace that always hung to her, Eriol could go on forever and never run out of a feature to praise. God, she had no right to look so beautiful right then. Did she know all the torture she was putting him through? Deep blue depths bore into fierce amethyst ones, drifting here and there, hungrily drinking in the sight before them. 

He immediately stepped into the elevator and the doors closed. 

"Daidouji--s-san," he greeted, nodding curtly, and almost choking on his own words.

"H-Hiiragizawa-kun," was the response. 

And that was all, the language of strangers. What more was there to say? Neither knew what was going on in the other's life anymore. Other than a 'hi' and 'how's it going?', everything else seemed like a dangerous territory. It was sad, really. Two blissful years together, yet when they met again, it all slid behind a mask of cold civility. 

The elevator doors shut soundlessly, and the two of them felt the box start to descend. 

Not a minute later and Tomoyo was already beginning to sweat with nervousness. Trying to stay calm, Tomoyo couldn't say that the questions she was bombarded with were helpful. One ceaseless inward question she couldn't answer kept bugging her: What the hell was Eriol even doing here? She hadn't seen him for several weeks, she wasn't counting on seeing him any time soon. He was in the Daidouji Toy Company, he had no place in here anyway…except for being the CEO's daughter's ex-boyfriend. But that counted for nothing. 

Kami-sama, Tomoyo's heart stopped at the sight of him, standing right in front of the elevator door. She could already feel all the guilt she had worked to bury surfacing again. Suddenly, her breath wasn't coming out right. All she could think of was getting out of there, but hestepped into the elevator before she could. 

You just have to wait a few seconds, a rational and more collected voice in Tomoyo's head told her [no, she's not crazy with voices in her head, just like…a wiser her or something, u know], just keep quiet and pretend its nothing. But as she comforted herself, she could feel the sensation become stronger and stronger.

Silence. Tense silence. The elevator air was stretched and heavy with it. Eriol felt it was nearly impossible to break the ice of reserve glassing over such natures as Tomoyo's. 

Before Eriol even got a chance to speak though, the elevator suddenly jolted to a stop. Tomoyo stumbled a little and fell on the carpet. Eriol managed to stay standing.

Now this wasn't routine; the elevator usually slowed down before coming to a standstill… she knew because she had been on it many times before. But Tomoyo knew that the Daidouji Toy Company's elevators weren't cheap, they didn't breakdown easily. And it was just a convenient coincidence that it had to break down on her with Eriol stuck inside, wasn't it? 

"Daidouji-san! Are you alright?"

Tomoyo didn't answer. Instead, her blood boiled. Even at a time like this when they were nothing short of strangers, Eriol still had the audacity to use his magic to stop the elevator and trap them alone in here! 

Anger was clouding over her better judgement, but she didn't care. 

Tomoyo stood up, dusted herself off, and completely ignoring the advice she had just given herself, screamed, "Alright? Am I alright?! NO, I don't think I am! I haven't seen you for a month, and you just march back in here like you're someone important in my life! Eriol Hiiragizawa, I don't even know you anymore_, _and you still have guts to use your magic and STOP THE ELEVATOR!!! Drop dead, Hiiragizawa!" 

The shrill cry rang out in the edgy silence. 

For several fleeting seconds, a flash of confusion crossed Eriol's features. 

"Daidouji-san, I did NOT use magic to stop this elevator! How could you accuse me of such a thing?" Eriol drew out his key and showed that it was inactive at the moment, "and whose fault is it that we are total strangers now?" he added in a murmur. 

Another tense silence before the lights went out. The couple would have been shadowed in complete darkness if it were for the vents on top of the elevator, not that they helped much.

"Oh great, just what I need," Tomoyo muttered under her breath. "Can this get any worse?" 

Eriol didn't add anything. His overdriven brain was coming up with many crazed lines: Tomoyo-san, how could you dump me like that? I thought that we were meant to be…what about all the things we did to get to where we were? Don't they count for anything, are we just going to discard them like nothing? And the questions went on, but not a sound escaped his lips. 

Instead, summoned his staff, and attempted to bring the electricity back to the elevator. 

Nothing happened.

What? He still had half his power, he was sure it was enough to resurrect the elevator back to working condition. But after several more tries, nothing happened still. 

They really _were _trapped in the elevator. Wasn't he lucky; the first time he sees Tomoyo again and they were stuck in an elevator for who knows till when.

The elevator was absent of its usual noise until music abruptly started to play. Real music, not elevator songs. 

Not all too subtly, Eriol could sense a burst of pinkish energy. That could only mean…Sakura. And that was all the clue Eriol needed. He knew exactly what was going on. And what a nice song to go with it.

__

Everybody's got something 

they had to leave behind

  
One regret from yesterday 

that just seems to grow with time  


There's no use looking back or wondering  


How it should be now or might have been  


All this I know but still I can't find ways to let you know  


So Sakura and Syaoran were trying to get them back together by locking them up in an elevator. Eriol wondered how long they would keep it up if Tomoyo and him just stayed quiet the whole time. And just how many people knew about this. Sonomi possibly, and Syaoran no doubt was laughing at him right now. And maybe his _faithful _guardians and _faithful _past guardians. 

__

  
I've never had a dream come true  


Till the day that I found you  


Even though I pretend that I've moved on  


You'll always be my baby  


I never found the words to say  


You're the one I think about each day  


And I know no matter where life takes me to  


A part of me will always be with you

Tomoyo was bewildered, "Hiiragizawa-kun, what's going on?" 

A pregnant pause. 

Eriol heaved a sigh, then answered, "It's Sakura and my little descendant." 

Tomoyo, too, immediately understood. She scowled. Really, she thought, Sakura meant well a lot of times, but she was really going to have to kill her for this one. No wonder why Sakura had been silent the last few days she had seen her, she was probably planning what she was going to do when she and Eriol met unexpectedly. 

"So we're stuck in here until…" she trailed off.

Eriol shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," 

Tomoyo groaned. 

  
Somewhere in my memory  


I've lost all sense of time  


and tomorrow can never be 

cause yesterday is all that fills my mind  


There's no use looking back or wondering  


How it should be now or might have been  


All this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go

The mood was beginning to change. The words and music proved to be effective. A romantic, yet melancholy atmosphere was settling. The ambiance of, as the song as, a past love -never to be forgotten- that was perfect but somehow ended short. Yet despite the song, there seemed to be hope in the air. 

I've never had a dream come true  


Till the day that I found you  


Even though I pretend that I've moved on  


You'll always be my baby  


I never found the words to say  


You're the one I think about each day  


And I know no matter where life takes me to  


A part of me will always be  


The lyrics must have had magic strung into them because they were really getting to Tomoyo. And all the guilt piling up wasn't helping. She heaved a sigh and sat down. 

"Umm, Eriol-kun?" She asked tentatively. 

Eriol turned so they were face to face, "Yes?"

You'll always be the dream that fills my head  


Yes you will, say you will, you know you will  


You'll always be the one I know I'll never forget  


There's no use looking back or wondering  


Because love is a strange and funny thing  


No matter how I try and try I just can't say goodbye  


"About that night…" Tomoyo started.

"Which night?"

Tomoyo sighed. Guessed she deserved that.

"The night I accused you of cheating and we had an argument and I walked out…"

"Yes, what about that, Daidouji-san?"

Tomoyo cringed at the formalities. When she first say Eriol at the elevator door he looked thrilled to see her, and she, in fact, was delighted and astounded to see him, but now he seemed so distant. Was it something she said? Tomoyo was beginning to worry that even if she _did _try to resolve all this, Eriol wouldn't still love her like she still loved him…

__

I've never had a dream come true  


Till the day that I found you  


Even though I pretend that I've moved on  


You'll always be my baby  


I never found the words to say  


You're the one I think about each day  


And I know no matter where life takes me to  


A part of me will always be  


A part of me will always be with you  


The song had already ended, but the vibes it left behind were unmistakable. Tomoyo charged ahead. 

"I--I'm sorry. I take back all the things I said that night. It was just that…it was all so overwhelming beautiful that you returned my love, it all seemed too good to be true…and then there were days when you got home late and I immediately suspected you because I was just so insecure. I should've at least had some proof before I said anything. I'm sorry…" 

A prolonged silence. 

"Tomoyo-san, all this pain wasn't necessary. A whole month… If you had said something to me before…"

Tears were swimming in Tomoyo's eyes, "I know, I know! And that's what's killing me right now. It's all my fault!" 

The droplets began to fall. 

Eriol sat down beside Tomoyo and proceeded to gently wipe them with the back of his hand. 

"It's alright, Tomoyo."

"No, its not! I cost the two of us so much pain. And all of it could have been avoided if I had just said something to you! I don't deserve you…and didn't from the beginning."

"Tomoyo, how can I say this? Love is not all bliss. There is pain and suffering involved. But that's one of the beautiful things about love; it can survive all of that. That's why it's such a grand and majestic force, because all the bad points just make it stronger. And of course you deserve me, you deserve much better than me. _I'm _the one that doesn't deserve you. I sometimes lay down and wonder how, out of everyone, you picked me," 

Tomoyo's eyes lit up, "Does---Does that mean that you still…" she asked, hopeful.

"I still love you, Tomoyo. Will you please come back?" 

Eriol's words lit up Tomoyo's face like a reflections from the aspect of an angel. 

"Oh, of course I will, Eriol. I still love you, too!" Tomoyo exclaimed, tears of despair now turned to droplets of joy. 

"Thank god," Eriol said, relieved, as he swept Tomoyo into a hug. 

Tomoyo smiled contentedly with her arms around Eriol's neck. "I will always love you, no matter what happens,"

"I will too, you can count on it," Eriol returned as he dipped his head to snatch a kiss. 

__

The next night…

Eriol once again strolled down a trodden path in the park. This time he wasn't heavy with despondency, but light with bliss. Everything turned out fine after all. 

After he and Tomoyo had finally gotten out of the elevator to find the whole company in on the plan, everything had been going smoothly. Of course, he would have to get at least Syaoran back, if not Sakura too. But he was too happy to do that right now. 

Eriol came to a park bench, the same one he had laid on about a month ago. This time it didn't present itself as dusty and worn, but renewed, like his good mood. He laid down again and relaxed with his eyes observing the sky. 

The sky was pure and stainless: the clouds were flinging off eastward in long, silvered columns. The stars sparkled with jubilation. The moon shone confidently, offering a soft glow of contentedness and peace for the future. 

Eriol was at ease. He and Tomoyo had strayed from the heavenly world of bliss and love to the hell of pain and suffering, but they had found their way back. 

THE END

A/N: There! FINALLY done! =) Sorry I took so long, but if you haven't figured out yet, that's the way I work. I kept adding more and more when I could that when I reread the whole thing over again, I had to make a lotta adjustments. Other than that, it was fun writing this and lifting a bunch of ideas/burdens off my back. And I posted this whole thing up at once cuz I didn't wanna make ppl wait for different chapters of it, I knew I wouldn't be able to post updates up a regular intervals. XD 

Man, I feel so fake writing about missing someone when I know people all around me who have suffered so much more than me…not that I really suffered much right now. But what I'm trying to say is that I barely scraped the surface of pain, lost, and longing and here I am trying to portray it in my crappy writing. I feel like such a phony. XD 


End file.
